AEW Scouting Report

[MrKothoga]

Hangman leading a resistance against Brodie sounds like a great program to me. Hangman, Reynolds and Silver vs. Brodie, Uno and Stu. The distant future for Hangman clearly should be a dirty loss against Kenny followed by a clean title win but until then there's plenty reasons to have him have some beef with Brodie.

Fantasy booking another 3 vs 3 here makes me realize once again that AEW could probably pull of having a Trios Title. Especially with having Eddie, Butcher and Blade and Fenix, Penta and Pac mentionend a few posts above. 

Still, I'm not sure if I really want a Trios Title. But there are so many names here where you immediately see a possible trios team forming. 

Edited December 11, 2020 by MrKothoga

[Jiji]

Tony mentioned wanting a trios title recently iirc. They should pull the trigger if Hangman is sticking with Silver and Reynolds for a hot minute. They'd be great first champions, as would either of Kingston's group or Death Triangle.

[Godfrey]

If the bring in a trios title they have to ditch the FTW belt, it's already an affectation and any more championships would water down the Prestige.

[J.T.]

Uno is a fine talker, especially when unscripted.  I love me some Mr. Brodie Lee, but I am flummoxed as to why Dark Order had to import a leader.  Uno has the sinister charisma, the death mask, and the pimpin' suits.   He and Stu should be co-leaders of DO rather than bullied lackies.  I'm enjoying the current angle with Hangman Page, but I don't think that the blow-off between him and Lee should be for the leadership of Dark Order.   Uno & Stu should be the masterminds.

Riho is diesel.  I miss her.  Emi Sakura is a perfectly average worker but her Elvis gimmick makes her come off as a bit of a schlub.

Eddie Kingston is the best promo guy in the Federation not named Jon Moxley.  Normally I love shoot promos, but Eddie comes really close to exposing the business and not in a good way.   Calling out Blade on nationwide television to get his house in order was really fucked up, even though the subsequent effect was the result I hoped for (ie. Bunny returning to the fold).  Eddie needs to learn what not to say and when not to say it.

[Goodear]

Frankie Kazarian

Kaz is pretty much a solid, dependable hand whose value should be as a lower card detour for people AEW sees a future for and wants to build. He's your face Shawn Spears who should be winning matches on Dark to pump his win-loss record so when he jobs on Dynamite, it makes the win mean more. 

Kaz has some moves that are somewhat convoluted (like his slingshot cutter and rope assisted leg drop where his opponent has to try to shoulder block him through the ropes) and a finish he's going to have to phase out in the reverse DDT if they are going to promote Sting's deathdrop. He's clearly got enough moves to make up for it. 

Kaz looks like a wrestler, has decent size and a good build. He doesn't draw a ton of attention which is perfect for a guy who should be around to make the other people look like stars. I don't see a lot of upward mobility for Kaz into the top of the card, I think he's at his ceiling. He's not dynamic in any one category to do that.

[Godfrey]

Kaz had a streak of singles matches that looked like he was trying to prove a point that Scorpio Sky isn't the only guy who should emerge from SCU with potential. The execution of that slingshot cutter is too rube golbergian for my liking but he has plenty of great moves and stiff strikes otherwise. I think you're right, he's at his ceiling as he is now, the right character advancements to take him to that next level and I think he could get something going in the TNT title range.

[NikoBaltimore]

My favorite thing about Kaz is his obsession about Metallica.  I can hear him talk that all day (and even Jericho too when he's not super annoying)  Oh, and his tights are great nods to the metal gods as well.  But as for his wrestling?  Eh, he's good but I can't remember the last time I cared to see his matches.  Unless the opponent's worthwhile I tend to skip his stuff on Dark.

[Craig H]

Regarding a Trios Title, I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but in the 6 man tag on Dynamite this week one of the teams was referred to as their first time in Trios action. 

[LoneWolf&Subs]

I don’t know what the end goal is for factions, but they help balance out the roster nicely in a way New Japan, STARDOM, and Dragon Gate are. 

The Acclaimed are still pretty rough, and need more seasoning, but they do have this cool factor. They just aren’t completely there in the ring. Top Flight are ahead of them after their performance with the Young Bucks. What they lack is a personality. That will come in time. They actually remind me of a young Mark & Jey Briscoe.

Edited December 11, 2020 by LoneWolf&Subs

[Gordi the former AEW fan]

9 hours ago, Goodear said:

I think he's at his ceiling.

DO YA?!

 

(On the off chance anyone doesn't get the reference):

And if anyone is curious where that bit comes from, Kazarian tells the story here, I believe (Edit: at the end, after the 14-minute mark, though the whole video is worth watching):

Late edit: While we're at it, I wish this were Kaz's entrance song:

Hey, I like your entrance music!

DO YA?!

Yes, exactly.

 

Edited December 12, 2020 by El Gran Gordi

[J.T.]

Kaz is a solid gateway worker.   He's best used to test up & coming talent and eating hard fought losses against the upper tier guys.  I wouldn't job Kaz too frequently because I'd want it to seem like a win against Kaz means something, especially if it is someone like Griff Garrison or Lee Johnson earning the win.

[Goodear]

Isiah Kassidy

Private Party has a whole host of issues that need some help in order to get them to the next level. The most concerning thing I see is that neither guy seems to have made any meaningful improvements and are in the same exactly place they were when we first met them in AEW. They really aren't any better off or more established than even Top Flight who have been on the roster for 3 appearances. Kassidy is the less flashy of the pair and far less interesting even from a visual standpoint. I'd much rather have him match Quen's tails outfit than look like as generic as he does. Honestly, as I'm thinking about it, Kassidy doesn't really do anything better than Marq does making me wonder why they're a team at all.

I want to share my quibble about PP's gin and juice finish and why it bothers me. It's a rana into a cutter and while OMG cutters are everywhere in AEW, it is super impressive. I don't like the fact that the person taking the rana would land on their face if Kassidy wasn't there and I have never seen anyone take a rana like that ever. So the person taking the move is doing something unnatural just so they can take the move even though if they just flipped, they wouldn't be in danger of taking the cutter.

Private Party never really got any momentum after getting that upset win over the Young Bucks because there was no meaningful follow through. So they are in exactly the same spot now that they were then as underneath tag guys who are not in any angles and not getting any momentum. It was a case where they got put over without getting put over. Talking about it this far away from the event just serves the point that AEW hasn't done anything with them since.

[Goodear]

Jack Evans

Jack has a super annoying way of carrying himself which is great for a lower midcard heel who isn't going to be a major threat. He can job out time and time again and it won't matter since he's so obnoxious. He's obviously very athletic but he can really phase a lot of that out and just concentrate on being a jerkoff. I think the ninja pants actually work in terms of a look and I don't think he needs any major changes to his presentation. I might let him talk a bit more just to rile up live crowds (if we ever get those back), but I don't have a lot of complaints about Evan's role in AEW.

Yup. 

[J.T.]

I have no bad things to say about Evans or Angelico.  Their tag-team used to be called The White Boys From Heaven when they were in AAA Worldwide.  That is as pro wrestling as it can get.

If AEW booked their tag division like an actual division instead of everyone against the champs, Private Party would be a perfectly fine #3 Contender.  I don't think they should be beating top tier units like FTR or even the Bucks anytime soon, but they should be out-quicking peer teams like Hybrid2 or SCU (Kaz & Sky) and they should be beating the living shit out of The Acclaimed or Dark Order's Five and Dime..

Edited December 13, 2020 by J.T.

[Godfrey]

4 hours ago, Goodear said:

Private Party never really got any momentum after getting that upset win over the Young Bucks because there was no meaningful follow through. So they are in exactly the same spot now that they were then as underneath tag guys who are not in any angles and not getting any momentum. It was a case where they got put over without getting put over. Talking about it this far away from the event just serves the point that AEW hasn't done anything with them since.

I'm not sure if you mean this to be an indictment of Private Party or AEW (or neither at all), I'd say PP were given enough to build on with Matt Hardy as a mentor and it was clear fairly quickly that they weren't quite ready for primetime yet. Their offense was loosey goosey and they wrestled essentially the same match each outing. Cassidy had a singles match with Jericho on Dynamite and managed to bloody Chris' mouth with a sloppy stunner. In short, they need reps, and under normal circumstances they'd be touring the indies I'm sure but in this timeline they need to be on Dark. And not working with locals either, in an extended feud with another team that needs work (the Acclaim maybe) so they can put together something new week to week. It's too bad Matt Hardy is off on his own again, seemingly in a cross-promotional race with his brother to see who can permanently injure themselves sooner. Private Party could use a guiding hand and Hardy was a good choice.

[AxB]

...They're in a Six Man with Hardy vs Hangman, Silver & Reynolds next week. Which is presumably building to Hardy feuding with PP.

If Hardy forms a Tag Team with Sydal, that might be interesting. The Two Matts! A couple of weird middle aged guys hanging out, being weird together. And a good veteran team to educate the youngsters.

[Goodear]

Jake Hager

Remember when fresh faced Jack Swagger was going to light the wrestling world on fire when he first appeared in ECW? Seems like a lifetime ago.

Hager is a study in contradictions. He's been effectively mute since joining AEW but we've all heard him talk probably hundreds of times so I'm not sure what the point of that is. He's pushed as this bad ass MMA fighter but he wears polo shirts almost exclusively when he's not in his gear which makes him the toughest guy at the golf course. He takes long absences from the ring because he's got to train for MMA but they don't do a good job of using MMA footage or results to make him seem like a bigger deal. It's mentioned in passing when it could be used to put some heat on the guy as a legitimate tough guy.  I liked Mrs. Hagar when she was around but that was dropped as soon as he didn't win the World Title which seems like ages ago and he's done nothing but make faces at Wardlow since. Since he's got no personality traits, it's hard to bounce off him.

Hagar seems better served as the heavy of the Inner Circle rather than Jericho's designated tag partner. I'm sure they transitioned away from Sammy due to the issues out of ring, but that pairing had a much better dynamic than Jericho and a plank of wood does. It seems to me Hagar disappears a lot in the home stretch of the tag matches and that just highlights his lack of a role in the team.

Skill wise, I like Hager's set up slam and he's always been good at takedowns. I'm not a fan of the arm triangle finish as it looks like something that doesn't hurt even if its a legit hold. He might be better off using CM Punk's old finish instead as it is more visually appealing. 

[Goodear]

Joey Janela

Joey seems like a guy they signed, didn't know what to do with, and is now in a random tag team they don't need on the roster. It as though they wanted to have him around because he's willing to do any sort of deathmatch stuff and then realized they couldn't do deathmatches every week with the same three guys. As such, they shunted Joey into this tag team with Sonny Kiss which has no potential to do anything but jobs. They have zero chemistry.

If it was me, I'd transition Joey into a bumping heel manager for a developing hoss heel tag team. Sort of like Eddie Gilbert and the Blade Runners. I see him as being annoying just in the way he looks and carries himself so he could theoretically get heat just by standing there on the outside. Then you can always add him to 2-on-3 matches and have the faces fuck him up once they finally get their hands on him. I have no interest in every seeing Joey as a single ever again. His willingness to take moves doesn't do anything for me since he's not sympathetic. Beating the shit out of him should at least be cathartic for the crowd.

Joey looks like a sleazebag. I'm not sure why we are supposed to be cheering for a sleazebag. 

[John from Cincinnati]

1 hour ago, Goodear said:

I have no interest in every seeing Joey as a single ever again.

Gimmick match vs the world champ on the A show coming right up! 

[Casey]

But the real question is what's everyone's opinion on his physique!

[LoneWolf&Subs]

Dudes the shortest big man in history.

[J.T.]

2 hours ago, Goodear said:

Skill wise, I like Hager's set up slam and he's always been good at takedowns. I'm not a fan of the arm triangle finish as it looks like something that doesn't hurt even if its a legit hold. He might be better off using CM Punk's old finish instead as it is more visually appealing. 

I think the problem is that dudes in Hagar's arm triangle sell it like a joint lock hold when they should be selling it like a sleeper hold.   We can't say sell it like a choke since chokes are illegal.

Dudes caught in Hagar's finisher should be slowly wilting away as he applies pressure and tapping out before they pass out, not flailing around as if their nerves were on fire and submitting because of the pain.

Eddie Kingston selling Mox's bulldog lock is the gold standard of how the arm triangle should be sold.

Mrs. Hagar is a great heel.  She should always be at ringside when her hubby is beating the shit out of people.

Edited December 13, 2020 by J.T.

[Godfrey]

I've brought up a couple of times in the past that I think Janella isn't playing to his strengths during this AEW run and I stand by that. His size, look, and wrestling style don't lend themselves to a normal singles run, while his bumping and personality give him a wilder edge that they don't capitalize on. He's more New Jack than Jack Evans and he should perform like it.

[Goodear]

2 hours ago, Andy in Kansas said:

Gimmick match vs the world champ on the A show coming right up! 

Hopefully it will be shorter than the Sonny Kiss epic.

[The Green Meanie]

6 hours ago, Goodear said:

Joey Janela

As such, they shunted Joey into this tag team with Sonny Kiss which has no potential to do anything but jobs. They have zero chemistry.

Maaaaaaan, I can't disagree more. I'm a huge fan of Bad Romance, they're one of my original boy tag teams. I admit I was a little confused when they first started, but (despite some recent losses) they've really gelled since their early days and are highly entertaining.

Not a fan of Sonny's new music, though.